It's time for your Liverpool FC morning digest for Sunday, July 3.
Liverpool to offer two more contracts as six signings hint at wider transfer strategy at play
With the signature of Mohamed Salah written on the dotted line, the first part of Liverpool's long-term transfer strategy was complete. It was decided at some stage during the pandemic that the club would be taking a 'retain and refresh' approach to their future as plans were put in place to keep hold of the nucleus of a squad that had lifted the Champions League and Premier League in successive summers between 2019 and 2020.
It was a policy that frustrated some supporters last summer as Ibrahima Konate proved to be the only arrival, but the hard work behind the scenes ensured that the elite squad that many have championed as the strongest in decades at Anfield has been kept together for the coming years under a manager who would later sign on until 2026 himself.
With Sadio Mane out of the picture, the potential exit of Salah further down the line - particularly for what would have been a free transfer - was something Liverpool simply couldn't countenance, especially given the Egypt star has never conveyed a desire to leave. So when it became apparent that an agreement could be reached, a delegation, led by new sporting director Julian Ward, was dispatched to the Greek island of Mykonos to end the saga and put supporters' minds at ease for the next three years.
By tying down players like Salah and the slew of first-team stars who preceded him last summer, Liverpool feel they are rewarding some of the best footballers in the world with terms that reflect their status, while also safeguarding for a future that will now involve Klopp and his staff for the next four years.
But while Salah's signature perhaps marks the real end of the 'retain' part of the wider transfer strategy, plans are afoot to also tie down Naby Keita and Joe Gomez to new terms of their own in the coming weeks and months.
Read the full story HERE.
Inside story of Mohamed Salah's new Liverpool contract with secret meetings and emails key to agreement
Before there were any handshakes over personal terms, performance-based bonuses or lengths of contract, the most important agreement between Liverpool and Mohamed Salah centred firmly around events on the pitch.
If Salah was to remain at Liverpool for the next three years as the highest-paid player at Anfield, there was one non-negotiable that had to be reached above all else. For Salah himself, the belief that he could maintain the extraordinary levels of the last five years well into his 30s was and is unshakeable. In the modern game, top players are performing for longer and few are as dedicated to their craft as the recently-turned 30-year-old.
Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonnucci, for example, were the defensive bedrock behind Italy's European Championship victory last year at the ages of 36 and 34, while Chelsea's Thiago Silva, who turns 38 in September, is still starring in the Premier League for Chelsea. And for a player whose commitment and desire to stay in peak condition is as strong as Salah's, there are no concerns that the Reds' superstar will dramatically tail off in the coming years from his end. Liverpool, to their credit, agreed.
It's why there were few qualms about handing over the biggest contract of all time at Anfield to someone who has just entered his 30s, a deal that will end when he is about to turn 33.
The agreement between both the club and Salah that he will maintain this level of performance over the coming years was key to unlocking everything that has followed as the deal Reds fans had waited a long time for was finally signed and sealed. The champagne bottles were popped long into the night on the island of Mykonos as Salah's agent, Ramy Abbas, toasted to the biggest deal he has ever brokered.
A delegation had been dispatched to where Salah is currently holidaying earlier this week, led by new sporting director, the impressive Julian Ward, as they closed in on a deal that was initially outlined in a face-to-face meeting at the turn of the year in Miami between Fenway Sports Group president Mike Gordon and Abbas, the Colombian solicitor who has looked after Salah's interests throughout his time on Merseyside.
Those on the trip were sworn to secrecy as the delegation planned to finally secure the biggest contract ever at Liverpool before executing the type of carefully orchestrated social media unveiling that has become commonplace with such high-profile signings. It is unclear how widespread the knowledge of the flight out to meet Salah was throughout the staff, but it is unlikely to have been openly communicated across all channels, such was the importance of the trip. Discretion, as always, was the keyword.
Read the full story HERE.
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